A large group of smiling young people and adults, some waving, pose together on an artificial pitch in front of a sponsors banner

Our team

Founders and leadership

José Murphy outdoors with two children

José Murphy

Co-founder and CEO

LinkedIn

A former Ecolint student who helped build FOOTBALL4iMPACT from a classroom idea into international programmes. José leads partnerships and keeps the project moving, while finishing his final year of the BBA at IE University.

Portrait of Sarah Lalaz, smiling with her arms folded, in a black top against a grey background

Sarah Lalaz

Co-founder and President

LinkedIn

Learning coordinator at La Châtaigneraie and the person who turned a conversation into a programme. As an educator, Sarah looks after our school connections, and brings an educator's eye to every trip, making sure students come home with more than a journey to remember.

Mentors

Mentors who guide the team and the programmes.

A smiling man with short dark grey-flecked hair, in a dark jacket and light open-collared shirt, against a plain blue background

Fouad Hashem

Mentor

LinkedIn

An adjunct professor at Nova University Lisbon who curated and directed a pioneering summer school in 2022 to get teenagers ready for life. When he is not teaching or supervising student dissertations, Fouad enjoys football and photography.

A man in a black cap and navy jacket with a rainbow Youth Unity logo sits at a table with his hands clasped, looking at the camera

Paul McKenzie

Mentor and Director of Media

LinkedIn

A film maker and mentor at Youth Unity CIC with more than 30 years of experience supporting young people affected by county lines, grooming and criminal exploitation. He understands how exploitation starts, how it tightens its grip, and what it takes to help a young person find a way out. He also runs the Rhino in the Room podcast on Spotify.